Illuminated obelisks, made of oiled paper stretched on a wooden frame and lit from within by candles, were often created as centerpieces of celebrations such as those the repeal of Stamp Act inspired. American activist and engraver Paul Revere (1735–1818) apparently helped design the illuminated obelisk erected on Boston Common, which explains why he was able to offer a copperplate engraving of it on the night it was presented. Decorated with patriotic imagery and portraits of English statesmen who aided the American cause, the obelisk was destroyed by fire hours after it was erected. This engraving is the only surviving visual record of this important but ephemeral form of communication in revolutionary America.